Ice Skating
by Yuaki1707
Summary: After buying some new ice skates, Lucy decides she needs a teacher; who better than the only ice mage in Fairy Tail? GrayLu


Ice Skating

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN FAIRY TAIL!**

Winter.

The cold season that brought snow, hail and ice. She loved the season, but she knew someone who loved it even more; Gray Fullbuster, the only ice-make mage in Fairy Tail. The blonde remembered how cheery Gray had been when Team Natsu had come back to Magnolia only to find it covered in snow. Gray's face had lit up like that of a kid in a candy store. Lucy couldn't hhelp but smile at the memory. She hadn't seen the ice mage this happy in a long time.

The river outside of her apartment had frozen and she had felt the urge to try ice skating. However, she had never attempted ice skating before and had no idea how to even begin. Yet, in her excitement she had already bought skating shoes and she wanted to try them out. After a long time of thinking, she had an idea; why not ask Gray to help her? Being an ice mage and having seen him slide, walk and skate on his ice-make floor, she knew he would be the best one to help her.

She made her way to the guild, hoping Gray would be there. She shivered from the cold breezes that blew around her and she hugged herself more tightly, her thick winter jacket not seeming to be enough. When she entered the guild, she immediately looked for her target. She saw him having another fight with Natsu and walked over to them.

"Gray," she yelled, trying to get his attention and stop the fight. Having heard his name, he stopped the punch that was aiming at Natsu's face and looked at the celestial mage.

"Hey Luce! What's up?" He smiled at her and let go of Natsu, waiting for the blonde to answer.

"I wanted to ask you a favour. Would you teach me how to ice skate?" Just like she had expected, the ice mage smiled and agreed. They decided to walk to her apartment together to retrieve Lucy's skates. Once Lucy had quickly run into her room and snatched the pure white skates off the table, she ran back outside to see Gray already on the frozen river. His shirt had already been discarded onto the walk path and when she looked at him more closely, she noticed that he showed no signs of the cold affecting him. She sighed, deciding to enjoy the view of his muscular upper body instead of yelling at him to put his shirt on. The blonde carefully put on her new skates, trying not to ruin them. When she was finished, she hesitantly walked over the ice.

"Take my hands," Gray instructed and she obediently followed his order. Her hands touched his unusually warm ones and she let freezing out a small gasp when she felt him tug her arms. She quickly lost blance and stumbled forwards into Gray's naked chest. The ice mage quickly wrapped his arms around Lucy to make sure she wouldn't fall. Lucy grabbed onto the man's shoulders to steady herself.

"Are you okay, Luce?" Gray asked her, a small hint of worry in his voice. She nodded her head and backed away a little to create some space between her and Gray. As much as she wanted to stay in his warm embrace, she didn't want to seem clingy or give Juvia the idea of herself being a love rival if the water mage was stalking Gray again. Even though the celestial mage often told herself that she didn't have any romantic feelings towards the ice mage, she knew she was lying to herself. She couldn't deny how amazing he looked, but that wasn't the only thing that attracted her towards him. It was the way that he smiled at her, protected her, his personality, his bravery, his loyalty towards his friends, Fairy Tail and his morals.

"Alright, we'll start with the basic." Lucy was brought back to reality and watched Gray glide on the ice with ease. He seemed to be in his element and the blonde smiled as she saw the small smile on his face. She loved seeing him like this; enjoying himself, doing something he's good at.

"Your turn." I looked at him in disbelief; I was supposed to try that? I was going to fall right away. Noticing the look the blonde was giving him, he realised he was going a bit fast. She had no idea what to do! He glided to her and held out his hands again. She slowly grasped them, waiting for the ice mage to tell her what to do.

"Just take one step at a time." The eighteen year old slowly started gliding backwards. Lucy slowly brought her feet forward, watching them intently and tightening her grasp on Gray's hands as if they were the only thing keeping her from going off balance and landing on the hard surface. The ice mage slowly took another few steps and Lucy followed. After a few minutes he sped up a little and Lucy was able to keep up. He started to loosen his hold on her hands before completely letting go.

"Now, try it on your own." She nodded her head, but didn't dare look up from her feet. She kept gliding forward, feeling proud of herself for not haven't fallen on the cold ground. She started gaining confidence and lifted her eyes, looking at the ice mage smiling back at her. She started skating towards him, trying to go faster in her excitement. When she got closer to him, the blonde tried to slow down, but then realised too late that she didn't know how to slow down or stop. When Gray realised what was happening, he already felt Lucy's body collide with him and push both of them backward landing on the cold ice.

When his back met the ice, he let out a small grunt of pain. Gray opened his eyes to be met by Lucy's chocolate ones. His mind was trying to figure out how he got into this position. Lucy's body was completely on top of his; her legs tangled with his, her chest on his naked one, her hands on his shoulders and her lips on his. When his mind registered the last fact, he focused on the soft lips that seemed to fit perfectly to his. He couldn't explain what he was feeling, but his mind kept telling him that kissing the celestial mage was...natural and...right; like he was supposed to have kissed her sooner, like her lips were made for his.

His thoughts were interrupted when he felt Lucy pull away. Her face was red from embarrassment and the fact that she had accidentally (but definitely enjoyed) kissed one of her best friends (although her feelings for him went further than friendship).

"I'm so sorry, Gray! I didn't mean to! It was an accident!" She kept apologising to him, whilst trying to get back onto her feet. She was almost there when she lost her balance again and fell on her butt. The ice mage got up with ease and held out his hands for the blonde to take. She immediately took his offer and watched as he easily lifted her back onto her feet. The celestial mage marvelled at how easily the man in front of her had lifted her up.

"Sorry," she said to him again.

"It's fine, Luce." A silence followed for a few minutes until Gray offered to walk her back to her apartment. She accepted and Gray took the blonde's hands again, guiding her off the ice. She carefully stepped off the ice and sat on the ground to take her skates off. She undid the laces and slipped off the skates. Again, Gray helped her up as they walked to her apartment. When they arrived at their destination the celestial mage thanked her companion for his help.

"Don't worry about it. I'm glad I was able to help you." He turned to leave until he felt a soft hand grab his strong arm. Gray looked at the blonde who had stopped him. Her eyes were looking at the ground, scared to look at the man in front of her. She had grabbed his arm on impulse, something telling her to not let him leave yet.

"What is it, Luce?"

"I-I...Please don't leave yet," she whispered just loud enough for him to hear. He walked back to her, his hand grasping her chin, lifting her face to meet his.

"I'm right here, Luce. I'll stay as long as you want me to." She saw the sincerity in his eyes and the small genuine smile that graced his beautiful face. She smiled back at him in return, feeling her confidence coming back.

"Gray...do you like Juvia?" The question had been nagging her a long time and she hadn't been able to hide her curiosity and longer.

"Juvia? Of course I like her, she's nakama," he answered.

"I meant if you like-like her."

"Not like that, no. Why did you ask? Her face immediately turned red and she looked down at the ground again.

"J-just curious," she stuttered. The ice mage looked at her disbelievingly. He knew she was lying. She wasn't looking at him, her body was rigid and she had stuttered.

"Don't lie to me, Luce. What was the real reason you asked?" She mumbled an answer but he couldn't understand a single word. He asked her again and he got another mumbled response.

"Lucy, tell me, please." Hearing the desperation in his voice, she gave in. She looked up at him and repeated her earlier mumbled words.

"Because I love you, but I thought you loved Juvia." It took a few seconds to let her words sink in before he responded. He leaned forward, letting his lips touch hers. The sensation reminded him of the kiss they had minutes ago on the ice. The blonde eagerly responded and kissed him back with the same passion. They pulled away, their breathing heavy and uneven.

"I love you too." She smiled at the ice mage and he smiled back.

There was only one thought in her head: She should have asked him for ice skating help a lot sooner.


End file.
